


Rebirth (oh cursed cycle that you are)

by firestormrunner



Series: Stormy's RWBY One-shots [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Canon Divergence, Character Study, Ficlet, Gen, Spoilers: Volume 8 (RWBY), Volume 8 (RWBY), another tumblr cleanup, the merge theory, which I don't believe in but you know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:54:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28388097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firestormrunner/pseuds/firestormrunner
Summary: There's a fullness in his mind that's ready to burst at the seams. There's a clawing in his heart searching for the presence now missing.When Oscar said he didn't want the merge to happen, he didn't realize how close he really was to having everything he never wanted.
Relationships: Ozpin & Oscar Pine
Series: Stormy's RWBY One-shots [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2204730
Kudos: 49





	Rebirth (oh cursed cycle that you are)

**Author's Note:**

> More Tumblr cleanup, aka more weird shit from yours truly. I still don't think the merge is going to be endgame for Oscar and Oz, but I do like to play with its implications from time to time.
> 
> Edit: Officially a bit of canon divergence

To be blessed was a gift. To be blessed was a favor bestowed upon you from the Brothers, from nature, from the world, from whatever you believed in. To be blessed brought duty, brought responsibility, if you were the right person, to be blessed brought a sense of desire to do what you could for the world and those around you. To be blessed was a weight, but undeniably to be blessed was a gift.

To be cursed was an insult. To be cursed was to be cast from favor from the Brothers, from nature, from the world, from whatever you believed in. To be cursed brought banishment, brought scorn, if you were the right person, to be cursed brought a sense of hatred both towards you and from you for the world and those around you. To be cursed was a weight, and undeniably to be cursed was a punishment.

It was without a doubt in his mind that when this chapter of Remnant came to its conclusion, if after a story could be written about it, Salem would be considered cursed by the Gods for her foul misdeeds. And Ozma and all his incarnations would be considered both blessed and a blessing to banish her hold on the world.

Oscar swayed as they left the whale, already lagging behind his “rescue” from the pain resulting from his days and the exhaustion resulting from his feats. The magic that burst from his hands minutes prior to ensure their escape, ensure their _survival,_ shouldn’t have been possible for him. Not now anyways, not yet. And yet, it _did_ happen, and the reason for it was the only thing that was overcoming his senses. It didn’t take long for him to be in the arms of safety, or at least away from the jaws of death, before it became all too overwhelming and he felt himself tumbling to his hands and knees. Everything _hurt_ , but not in the way he expected. His body _burned_ with the pain from Hazel and Salem, but that was a pain he knew. He did not expect the hallow _emptiness_ in his heart and he did not expect the overwhelming _fullness_ of his mind.

_“Oscar!”_

Yang’s shout was heard but it was faint, like she was underwater. Or like she was worlds away from him and would never reach him. In a way, maybe she was. Maybe they all were. There was no conceivable way anyone would be able to understand what he was going through, not anymore anyways. Even if he had the words to explain it, which he didn’t, he would never be able to explain the painful chaos raging inside of him in full. How _could_ he describe a yawning, barren chasm and a violent storm simultaneously?

“Oscar, what’s wrong?”

Jaune’s voice was clearer, and he heard the clattering of metal before he felt hands pressed to his back. He could feel Jaune’s Aura amplifying his again, and it was slowly convincing his own, feeble Aura to ease the burning he felt in his face and torso. But it didn’t stop the screaming in his mind, it didn’t stop the clawing in his heart. It didn’t do anything to help him drag himself to his feet, however much he might have appreciated the gesture in a different moment of time.

“He’s gone,” Oscar choked out. He finally acknowledged the tears in his eyes as they threatened to spill over. “He’s gone!” he said again, unable to explain anything else. How did he explain that Ozpin was gone when they didn’t even know he was back? How did he explain that Ozpin _wasn’t_ gone, that the memories were there but his presence wasn’t, that the back of his mind still tingled like Oz was there…but it was only his own?

His heart was beating erratically, and he could feel his breath coming in gasps. He could feel tears streaking his cheeks. “I’m gone. I’m…I’m…gone?!” He was asking, but he knew there wasn’t an answer. Not one that anyone around him could give, anyways. Because how did he explain that he wasn’t the same kid they had met in Haven…that he hadn’t been for a while just based on their adventures but _now_ was different? How did he explain that he was Oscar, that he knew _himself_ as Oscar, but suddenly he also knew himself as Ozpin, as the King of Vale, as all of the lives that came before him? How did he explain that he knew himself as Oscar, but that he knew he was just another cycle in an endless list of tragic lives and weighted responsibility?

How did he explain he knew himself as Oscar, yet didn’t know if he was Oscar anymore at all?

“Oscar.” He didn’t expect Ren’s soft voice to break through to him. He didn’t expect Ren to be the one to reach out and hug him, muttering about an overwhelming swirl of blue and flares of red and orange. He didn’t understand what Ren was talking about, but it worked better than Jaune’s Semblance, even if he couldn’t bring himself to return the gesture.

All he could do was clutch at his chest, at his rapidly beating heart that now held the lives of thousands of men before him and knew it held the potential of thousands of lives after him. A heart beating that was _his_ , but also now so much _more_ than just his. The heart that beat with the sole purpose of saving a world. The heart that beat throughout an eternity of time, the heart that beat with the blessings of a God. When Ozpin reincarnated, Oscar never thought of it as a blessing. With memories flooding his mind, with emptiness aching in his heart for a missing presence, with an ancient magic pulsing through his veins, now he realized he was right. And he was wrong.

 _This is a blessing_ , proclaimed the God of Light before granting eternal life.

 _This is a curse_ , realized Ozma much too late after his decision to accept.

 _This is reality_ , Oscar decided after forced into a position he never asked for, _And it is inescapable._

He lifted his eyes and watched through the blurred vision of his tears as swarms of Grimm continued their assault on Atlas. Below, he could hear their rumblings through Mantle.

_This is inevitable. And I must do with it what I can._


End file.
